Referral Email Template — Refer a Friend Promo

The referral email that lands in the second month after a customer opens an account. No hero artwork, no decoration — the bonus is stated up front ($25 to you, $25 to your friend), the qualifying activity is named once, the four-step “how it works” closes the trust gap, and one button does the work. Reads like a bank note, not a flyer.

Snapshot

• Goal: convert existing customers into referral sources by naming the bonus and the qualifying threshold up front.
• Audience & tone: existing Cederal customers 30–60 days in. Calm, specific, trust-first — every claim is exact, every number is real, every limit is disclosed.
• Palette: page #eff6ff · container #ffffff · text #172554 / #475569 (muted) · accent royal #2563eb
• Font: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif
• Artwork: none — fully native blocks

Build recipe

Each step is one block in the flat stack, top to bottom. [native] = a real email block. [layout] = a free-form layout embedded as a single image.

1. [native] Eyebrow — text. "CEDERAL REFER · INVITE UP TO 5 FRIENDS PER YEAR" accent #2563eb 12px Helvetica tracked uppercase, center.
2. [native] Heading — text. "You get $25. They get $25. No catch." text #172554 28px Helvetica bold, center.
3. [native] Body — text. "Send your referral link to a friend. When they open a Cederal account and receive their first direct deposit, you both get $25 deposited within 5 business days." muted #475569 15px Helvetica, center, line-height 1.6.
4. [native] Bonus line — text. "Total bonus: $25 to you + $25 to your friend = $50, paid on qualifying activity." text #172554 16px Helvetica bold, center.
5. [native] CTA button — button. Label "Get your referral link", royal #2563eb fill, white text, rounded corners, center.
6. [native] How heading — text. "How it works" text #172554 17px Helvetica bold, left.
7. [native] How body — text. "1. Send your unique link. 2. Your friend opens an account and verifies identity. 3. They receive a qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more. 4. You both get $25 within 5 business days." muted #475569 14px Helvetica, left.
8. [native] Fine print — text. "Limit 5 referrals per calendar year. Bonus is reported as required by applicable tax law. See Cederal Refer Terms for details." muted #475569 12px Helvetica, left.
9. [native] Social proof — text. "Sent it to my sisters — we all got $25 the week after payday." — Devon K., Cederal member since 2023 muted #475569 13px Helvetica italic, center.
10. [native] Footer — text. "Cederal Bank, N.A. · 525 Market Street, San Francisco, CA · [email protected] · Twitter / LinkedIn" muted #475569 12px Helvetica, center. Recolored to the palette.

Make it yours

1. Swap the $25/$25 numbers and the $200 qualifying deposit for your actual bonus and threshold.
2. Replace the 5-referral limit and the tax line with your real terms.
3. Recolor royal #2563eb to your brand — keep the white page for the trust signal.